Lace Tightening Assembly

ABSTRACT

A lace tightening assembly for tightening a lace in an article of clothing includes a ring that has a lace being extendable therethrough. In this way the ring abuts against an article of clothing through which the lace is extended. A plurality of engagements is each coupled to the ring to engage the lace. Each of the engagements is positioned at an angle in the ring such that the lace can be urged in a first direction through the ring but is inhibited from is urged in a second direction through the ring. In this way the lace is retained at a chosen tightness.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to tightening devices and more particularly pertains to a new tightening device for tightening a lace in an article of clothing.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to tightening devices. The prior art discloses a grommet that is attachable to a shoelace to inhibit the shoe lace from passing through an eyelet. The prior art discloses a pair of bulbs that is each attachable to an end of a lace for enhancing the ornamental appeal of the lace. Additionally, the prior art discloses a quick action fastener that can engage a lace on a shoe for performing various purposes on the lace. The prior art also discloses an end cap that is positionable on an end of a lace that includes a pivotable bridle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a ring that has a lace being extendable therethrough. In this way the ring abuts against an article of clothing through which the lace is extended. A plurality of engagements is each coupled to the ring to engage the lace. Each of the engagements is positioned at an angle in the ring such that the lace can be urged in a first direction through the ring but is inhibited from is urged in a second direction through the ring. In this way the lace is retained at a chosen tightness.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a lace tightening assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, a new tightening device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the lace tightening assembly 10 generally comprises a ring 12 that has a lace 14 being extendable therethrough. In this way the ring 12 can abut against an article of clothing 16 through which the lace 14 is extended. The article of clothing 16 may be a shoe, the lace 14 may be a shoelace and the shoe may include shoestring eyelets 18. The ring 12 has a diameter of at least 5.0 mm thereby inhibiting the ring 12 from passing through the eyelet 18 through which the lace 14 extends. The ring 12 has an inwardly facing side 20 that defines an opening 21 through the ring 12. Additionally, the ring 12 has a forward side 22 and a rearward side 24, and the opening 21 insertably receives the lace 14.

A plurality of engagements 26 is provided and each of the engagements 26 is coupled to the ring 12 to engage the lace 14. Each of the engagements 26 is positioned at an angle in the ring 12 such that the lace 14 can be urged in a first direction through the ring 12 but is inhibited from being urged in a second direction through the ring 12. In this way the ring 12 can retain the lace 14 at a chosen tightness. Each of the engagements 26 is positioned on the inwardly facing side 20 of the ring 12 and each of the engagements 26 extends into the opening 21. Moreover, the engagements 26 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed around a full circumference of the opening 21.

Each of the engagements 26 has a distal end 28 with respect to the inwardly facing side 20. Each of the engagements 26 has a bend 30 thereon to define a first portion 32 forming an angle with a second portion 34. The first portion 32 of each of the engagements 26 slopes toward the rearward side 24 of the ring 12. Moreover, the second portion 34 of each of the engagements 26 slopes toward the rearward side 24 of the ring 12 at a more acute angle than the angle at which the first portion 32 is oriented. Each of the engagements 26 is comprised of a resiliently bendable material such as plastic or the like.

The lace 14 is extendable through the ring 12 from the forward side 22 to the rearward side 24 such that the distal end 28 of each of the engagements 26 slides along the lace 14. In this way the engagements 26 facilitate the lace 14 to be drawn to a selected tightness. Conversely, the distal end 28 of each of the engagements 26 engages the lace 14 when the lace 14 is urged to move through the opening 21 from the rearward side 24 toward the forward side 22. In this way the engagements 26 retain the lace 14 at the selected tightness.

In use, the ring 12 is positioned against the eyelet 18, the lace 14 is extended through the ring 12 in the first direction and the lace 14 is drawn to the desired degree of tightness. In this way the engagements 26 engage the lace 14 to inhibit the lace 14 from passing through the ring 12 in the second direction. Moreover, the ring 12 has a diameter that is too great to pass through the eyelet 18. In this way the article of clothing 16 can be tightened on the user without having to tie or knot the lace 14.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A lace tightening assembly for retaining a lace in an article of clothing at a chosen tightness, said assembly comprising: a ring having a lace being extendable therethrough thereby facilitating said ring to abut against an article of clothing through which the lace is extended, said ring having an inwardly facing side that defines an opening through said ring, said ring having a forward side and a rearward side, said opening insertably receiving the lace; and a plurality of engagements, each of said engagements being coupled to said ring wherein each of said engagements is configured to engage the lace, each of said engagements being positioned at an angle in said ring such that the lace can be urged in a first direction through said ring but is inhibited from being urged in a second direction through said ring thereby retaining the lace at a chosen tightness, each of said engagements being positioned on said inwardly facing side of said ring, each of said engagements extending into said opening, said plurality of engagements being laterally spaced apart from each other and being distributed into a single line around a full circumference of said opening, each of said engagements having a distal end with respect to said inwardly facing side, each engagement having a pair of faces, each of said faces having a bend thereon to define a first portion forming an angle with a second portion, said first portion of each of said engagements having parallel first sections of said faces extending inwardly from said inwardly facing surface, said second portion of each of said engagements having parallel second sections of said faces extending from a distal edge of said first portion relative to said inwardly facing surface and sloping toward said rearward side of said ring.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said ring has a diameter of at least 5.0 mm thereby inhibiting said ring from passing through an eyelet through which the lace extends.
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said ring has the lace being extended therethrough from said forward side to said rearward side such that said distal end of each of said engagements slides along the lace wherein said engagements are configured to facilitate the lace to be drawn to a selected tightness, said distal end of each of said engagements engaging the lace when the lace is urged to move through said opening from said rearward side toward said forward side wherein said engagements are configured to retain the lace at the selected tightness.
 7. A lace tightening assembly for retaining a lace in an article of clothing at a chosen tightness, said assembly comprising: a ring having a lace being extendable therethrough thereby facilitating said ring to abut against an article of clothing through which the lace is extended, said ring having a diameter of at least 5.0 mm thereby inhibiting said ring from passing through an eyelet through which the lace extends, said ring having an inwardly facing side that defines an opening through said ring, said ring having a forward side and a rearward side, said opening insertably receiving the lace; and a plurality of engagements, each of said engagements being couple to said ring Wherein each of said engagements is configured to engage the lace, each of said engagements being positioned at an angle in said ring such that the lace can be urged in a first direction through said ring but is inhibited from being urged in a second direction through said ring thereby retaining the lace at a chosen tightness, each of said engagements being positioned on said inwardly facing side of said ring, each of said engagements extending into said opening, said plurality of engagements being laterally spaced apart from each other and being distributed into a single line around a full circumference of said opening, each of said engagements having a distal end with respect to said inwardly facing side, each engagement having a pair of faces, each of said faces having a bend thereon to define a first portion forming an angle with a second portion, said first portion of each of said engagements having parallel first sections of said faces extending inwardly from said inwardly facing surface, said second portion of each of said engagements having parallel second sections of said faces extending from a distal edge of said first portion relative to said inwardly facing surface and sloping toward said rearward side of said ring, said ring having the lace being extended therethrough from said forward side to said rearward side such that said distal end of each of said engagements slides along the lace wherein said engagements are configured to facilitate the lace to be drawn to a selected tightness, said distal end of each of said engagements engaging the lace when the lace is urged to move through said opening from said rearward side toward said forward side wherein said engagements are configured to retain the lace at the selected tightness. 